Tension and Suspicion Between U.S. and Russia
Name
Teacher
AP U.S. History
October 8, 2012
DBQ
From the years of 1941 to 1949, there was an increase in suspicion and tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a Communist country ruled by a dictator while America was a capitalist democracy that valued freedom. Their completely different beliefs and aims caused friction to form between them, which contributed to the creation of the Cold War. At the start of the first world war, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact. With Germany and the Soviet Union being allies, the rest of the world had their suspicions. In the U.S., Senator Truman expressed his dislike of both countries and his view of them as potential enemies(Doc A). Unfortunately for the Soviet Union, the pact between him and Hitler was soon broken by a German invasion. The invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 was a surprise to everyone, especially Stalin who was not prepared for it. According to Churchill, it was the turning point of the war. This turn on Stalin seemed like a great thing, if the Soviet Union hadn’t collapsed so quickly. With the fear of the Soviet Union’s surrender, Churchill and Roosevelt secretly met in the historic Atlantic Conference in August 1941. An outcome of the conference was the eight-point Atlantic Charter, where Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to defeat Germany before turning to Japan, and they planned for a new world organization, and affirmed their commitment to self-determination for all nations. In the midst of war, tensions were expressed in terms of which nation will emerge as world leader after the war. By 1943, the Allied nations were all committed to winning the war and creating a world in which “men in all lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want.” That was there goal even though they had yet come up with the basis for a world organization. In 1943, the foreign ministers of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great
Teacher
AP U.S. History
October 8, 2012
DBQ
From the years of 1941 to 1949, there was an increase in suspicion and tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a Communist country ruled by a dictator while America was a capitalist democracy that valued freedom. Their completely different beliefs and aims caused friction to form between them, which contributed to the creation of the Cold War. At the start of the first world war, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact. With Germany and the Soviet Union being allies, the rest of the world had their suspicions. In the U.S., Senator Truman expressed his dislike of both countries and his view of them as potential enemies(Doc A). Unfortunately for the Soviet Union, the pact between him and Hitler was soon broken by a German invasion. The invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 was a surprise to everyone, especially Stalin who was not prepared for it. According to Churchill, it was the turning point of the war. This turn on Stalin seemed like a great thing, if the Soviet Union hadn’t collapsed so quickly. With the fear of the Soviet Union’s surrender, Churchill and Roosevelt secretly met in the historic Atlantic Conference in August 1941. An outcome of the conference was the eight-point Atlantic Charter, where Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to defeat Germany before turning to Japan, and they planned for a new world organization, and affirmed their commitment to self-determination for all nations. In the midst of war, tensions were expressed in terms of which nation will emerge as world leader after the war. By 1943, the Allied nations were all committed to winning the war and creating a world in which “men in all lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want.” That was there goal even though they had yet come up with the basis for a world organization. In 1943, the foreign ministers of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great